Author's Notes : OK - so you guys are going to REALLY like this chapter...so I hope you give me lots of feedback. That's all I'm going to say. Enjoy !
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Chapter 12 – Calleigh Takes a Chance
Estelle made a light lunch for them with a salad and gumbo. Horatio noticed that when she brought Calleigh's gumbo, she set a bottle of something next to her bowl. Calleigh had looked up at her, smiled and winked.
"Estelle, what is that ?"
"Now, Horatio Caine, you mind your business and eat your lunch."
"Estelle…."
He tried to give her the look he used on suspects when he was interrogating. He could see immediately, it was going to be lost on her. She looked back at him with a stare ten times more powerful than his.
"Okay, never mind."
She relaxed her gaze and smiled.
"Horatio Caine, you enjoy your lunch. Miss Calleigh."
Estelle left and Calleigh could barely contain her laughter until she got out of earshot.
"What is that stuff ?"
Calleigh smiled at him.
"Tabasco."
He looked puzzled.
"Estelle purposefully made the gumbo…….calmer than I like it, for you. She gave me this so I could spice mine up."
He raised his eyebrow.
"She didn't think I could handle it ?"
Time to play. She looked at him from under her eyelashes and replied.
"Very few people can handle it as hot as I like it."
Horatio wondered if they were still talking about gumbo.
"That sounds like a challenge."
"Perhaps another time, Lieutenant."
She sprinkled a generous amount of the spicy condiment on her gumbo, stirred it up and began to eat. He thought he heard her chuckle. He took a bite of his gumbo and it was delicious and it was very hot. He couldn't imagine someone adding any more fire to the dish but he was hardly prepared to admit it.
The rest of the meal was eaten with light conversation. Horatio did notice that Calleigh seemed more at ease, less stressed. She even seemed content. Maybe her talk with the chief had done some good. Estelle refilled their glasses of lemonade and then cleared the table.
Calleigh stood from the table with her lemonade.
"I'm going to take a walk in the garden. Would you like to join me ?"
"Of course."
He also stood from the table and grabbed his lemonade as they left the dining room. He followed her out the back and watched as she set her glass on one of the tables. As he drew close, she held out her hand to him.
"Come on."
He set his lemonade on the table also and hesitantly took her hand. She pulled him forward and headed for the newly designed maze in the garden. The maze was still in work, the hedges were only about five feet tall so you could still see out over the entire thing while you were in it. As they approached the entrance and slowed down, he expected her to drop his hand, instead as he drew up beside her she laced her fingers through his and continued into the maze.
"Isn't this going to be great once it grows up."
He was still unsettled by this turn of events and more importantly her hand in his.
"Yes, it's quite impressive."
"We thought it would be fun for kids."
"It would be."
As they walked toward the center they were quiet. Horatio spoke next.
"You had a lot of dreams planned here."
"We did."
She hesitated and then continued.
"I have an appointment with a realtor tomorrow to list the house."
Horatio was surprised.
"Really ? Isn't that sudden ?"
She replied quietly, full of emotion but steady.
"He's not coming back. This house was meant for a family and for kids. I'm not going to have that for awhile and I may not even stay in New Orleans so I need to be realistic. I need to give someone else a chance at the dream."
They stopped and faced each other he put his other hand over their joined hands and brought it to his lips, kissing the back of her hand gently.
"You don't have to make any sudden decisions."
"I know…….but……I want to take a chance……."
"What ? Calleigh, are you saying……."
She put her fingers to his lips.
"Kiss me before I change my mind."
He needed no other encouragement. He saw something in her eyes that he had not seen recently. Hope. He pulled her close and hugged her. He wrapped his arms and hands around her to envelop her in his embrace. She loved it when he held her like this. She felt so safe. She felt some of her fears slipping away.
He pulled away and looked into her eyes. Then he bent down and kissed her. It wasn't a kiss of passion, although he felt that. It wasn't a kiss of lust, although he felt that. It was a kiss of love and they both felt that. When he finally pulled away from her and brushed a strand of hair from her eyes, she smiled at him and he could see some of the fear had vanished. He was going to be strong for her. He was going to give her another chance at her dreams.
They walked hand in hand through the rest of the maze and back, stopping occasionally for a kiss or two. Reluctantly, Horatio excused himself to go make some calls to the office and Calleigh went into the kitchen to visit with Estelle.
"Calleigh, child, are you okay ?"
"I am. Would you mind serving dinner on the patio tonight."
"Of course not, it's a beautiful night to dine outside."
"Thank you."
They talked a little about the garden and the maze. Calleigh told her she was going to put the house on the market. Calleigh left a while later as Estelle started preparing for dinner.
She stopped by the office to let Horatio know they would be dining outside later and then went up to her room for short nap. Her dreams were sweet and she felt well rested when she went down to dinner later. Horatio was already outside when she walked out.
"Where did you disappear to ?"
She smiled.
"I took a little nap."
He walked over and wrapped his arm around her waist for a quick kiss.
"Good for you, how is your wrist today ?"
"Good, no pain."
She twisted it freely as if to prove it to him. He smiled.
Estelle brought dinner out and Horatio opened a bottle of wine for them. They chatted throughout the meal and then they sat outside until the stars came out, neither saying much, just happy and content. As they made there way back into the house, Calleigh said goodnight to Horatio in the foyer. She wanted to go check on Estelle before she went to bed.
Horatio kissed her mouth, her nose and then her forehead before he released her.
"You have a busy day tomorrow. I know this is a big step for you Calleigh, and I want you to know that I am in no hurry. You set the pace, sweetheart, I'm not going anywhere."
She smiled.
"I know. I decided that while you are here in New Orleans for the week or so, I need to let my guard down and really see what this thing is between us. Thank you for being so patient with me."
He leaned down and gave her another quick kiss before heading upstairs. Calleigh walked into the kitchen where Estelle was just turning everything off and getting ready to go to bed.
"Miss Calleigh. You sure you're okay ?"
"Yes, I am very okay. Estelle, I wanted to tell you something. Over this last month or so, Lieutenant Caine and I have been getting very close and he has told me he wants us to have a future together. Estelle, I am going to give it a chance. I know you loved Will and were very loyal and I wanted to tell you before you saw something between us that might upset you. I loved Will, I will always love him."
"Miss Calleigh, I know Mr. Will would want you to be happy. You don't owe me any explanation. Besides, I already knew."
"You already knew ?"
Calleigh was confused.
"Oh, yes, Miss Calleigh. Horatio Caine told me the second day you were here what his intentions were. We had a long talk about it that morning at breakfast before you came down. I gave him my approval."
"Oh, you did."
"Yes, ma'am. I think he thought I was the next best thing to Mr. Will himself."
"Well, he was right. Goodnight, Estelle."
"Goodnight, Miss Calleigh."
Calleigh walked out of the kitchen and upstairs to bed. Horatio's door was closed when she walked by and she could hear him in the shower, which made her smile. She went into her room and closed the door. She picked up the picture of Will on her dresser and sat in the rocker by the window.
"Hi, sweetheart. I talked to the chief today. He thinks I should open myself up to the future, not give up on my dreams. I don't know. It feels like I am betraying you, like I am letting go too soon. I know you aren't coming back but can you watch over me ? Can you share the dreams with me still ? Horatio wants me to give him a chance. I want to. I'm going to let my guard down while he is here and see what happens. I love you, Will. I will always love you."
She kissed the picture and stood up to get ready for bed. She went to bed with sweet dreams that night.
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The next morning, she went down to breakfast early and told Estelle to let Horatio know she had gone into town to see the realtor and run a few other errands. She told her she did not think she would be home for lunch and to let him know he could reach her on her cell. Soon after, she left.
Her meeting with the realtor went well. They agreed to come out to the house on Friday with some agents to get the listing finalized. Calleigh ran by the cemetery and the academy before heading home. She pulled in the driveway around twelve thirty and headed inside, straight for the kitchen.
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He had just finished talking to Eric about the latest cases he had faxed him and had the chair turned around toward the window where he was bent over rummaging through his files for some additional forms, his back was to the door when he heard a knock.
"Come in."
He heard the door open and close as someone entered. His nose told him it was his lunch. Without looking up he spoke.
"Estelle, just set it on the desk, please."
Calleigh set the food down and walked behind the desk and behind him. She reached around and placed her hands over his eyes.
"Guess who ?"
Horatio smiled as his senses finally smelled her perfume over the smell of the food and he decided to play.
"Hmmmm…..I don't know, I need a hint."
"Keep your eyes closed and I'll give you a hint."
"Okay."
Calleigh, smiling, removed her hands and walked around until she was in front of him. He felt her movements and it was taking every ounce of control he had to keep from reaching out for her. This was her game and he was having fun playing.
Calleigh leaned in closer and brushed her lips over his. She placed featherlike kisses along his jaw line, put her hands in his hair and moved her mouth back over his. He welcomed her return and leaned forward to deepen the kiss and suck on her lower lip. She pulled away reluctantly and he kept his eyes closed.
"So, any guesses ?"
"Hmmmm….I think I need another hint."
"H o r a t i o……"
He opened his eyes laughing and stood up. He gathered her in his arms and they kissed each other with abandon, pulling apart only once to catch their breath before resuming their lip lock for another searing kiss. Calleigh pulled away first trying to catch her breath while staying within the circle of his arms.
"I brought your lunch."
"I see that. Did you let Estelle go ?"
"Horatio….I just got home and wandered into the kitchen to see what Estelle was making. She had a tray ready for you so I volunteered to be your delivery girl."
"Well, I'm glad, I never would have received this kind of service with Estelle."
"Horatio…."
Horatio laughed at her obvious irritation with his jokes.
"So, sunshine, what have you been doing all morning ?"
"Actually, I met with the realtor and they are coming out Friday with some agents to get everything finalized."
"Good."
"And, I stopped by the cemetery. I wanted to tell Will what was going on with us. It was a good talk."
"I'm glad."
Calleigh's cell phone rang.
"You eat, I'll get this."
Horatio sat back down at the desk while she walked to the other side of the room to take the call. He dug into the crawfish po'boy sandwich Estelle had made him with abandon. He was beginning to love this Cajun cuisine a lot. After a few bites, he realized Calleigh was back in front of him.
"You have some mayonnaise on your mouth."
"What ?"
Horatio wiped at his mouth.
"No, it's by your mouth, you missed it."
Horatio wiped again and missed. Calleigh smiled.
"Here, let me get it….."
Calleigh leaned in across the desk and licked the mayonnaise from the edge of his mouth. She started to lean back when he stopped her.
"Oh, no you don't, you're not getting away with that little maneuver, sunshine, without some consequences."
He stood up and pulled her toward him on the desk. She laughed at his quick reaction to her playful game.
"Horatio, stop….."
Before she could go on he dropped his mouth over hers and demanded entrance. She immediately obliged and they wrapped their arms around each other in a passionate kiss of need and desire. He tasted spicy….she tasted like Heaven. She pulled back and planted several quick kisses on his lips and quickly moved out of his reach. She pointed at him.
"You…."
"What….?"
Horatio gave her his best innocent look.
"You have got to get back to work so and I still have things to do this afternoon. Just because we've got this arrangement, Horatio, I have lots to do here in New Orleans so I can move on with life. This new found closeness is nice….very nice, but I can't afford to be distracted from the tasks at hand."
She walked back over to him and pulled him into another quick kiss that he welcomed with open arms, literally. She pulled away and walked back towards the door and turned to look at him.
"And you, mister, are becoming quite a distraction."
He smiled.
"Back at you, sunshine."
She left the room and headed upstairs to change into something more comfortable. She came down a few minutes later in a lightweight-jogging suit and stuck her head into the office.
"I'm going to take a run. You want to eat out tonight."
"Sure. That sounds nice."
"I'll let Estelle know."
"Okay."
She grinned at him and left the room. Horatio took a deep breath. In twenty-fours hours things had changed significantly. He had the rest of this week and next week to let Calleigh know just how serious he was about this relationship. He just had to take it slowly and let her figure it out. He already knew he loved her.
-- to be continued --
